Vampires, Werewolves, and Mermaids
by bornagoof
Summary: My elbows were propped on the grass as I stared up at him. He was glittering all over his skin like he was a diamond. "So, what are you?" I asked, curiously. He stepped forward and crossed his arms. "What are you?" he questioned pointedly. I swished my tail in the water. "Isn't obvious? I'm a mermaid."
1. Prologue

**PROLOGUE**

I watched intently as Mrs. Bennett lectured and copied the diagram on the board, I had a lot to catch up on since I was absent for an entire week because I was sick with the flu.

"Bella?"

I felt someone tap my elbow with a pencil and turned around, to see my classmate Corey. I was confused. We weren't friends and weren't in any of the same circles, why was he talking to me?

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, why?" I answered, confused.

"Because you're sweating. A lot." He told me, gesturing to my forehead with his pencil.

I frowned and hesitantly put my hand up to my forehead, and it was sopping wet with sweat. I looked down at my hand in shock and suddenly realized that I felt hot and I could feel the sweat dripped down from my forehead. I looked down at my notes to see the droplets smearing the ink and washing away my notes.

"Ugh, no!" I complained.

The flu must have cycled. Darn it. I thought I was over this. I raised my hand, "Mrs. Bennett?"

"What is it?" she asked without tearing her eyes away from the board as she drew another diagram of an isosceles triangle.

"Can I go to the bathroom?" I asked.

"Can it wait?" she asked as she turned around to face me. "Oh. I see. Okay, go. But go to the nurse's office you don't look so hot," she commanded.

I nodded and scurried out of the room trying to ignore the stares and whispers from my class mates.

"Was that all sweat?" I heard a girl wonder.

I power-walked down the hall and reached the stairs when I began to feel woozy. I held onto the rail and took deep breaths as I began to feel nauseous. I took deep breaths. _No, no,no. I cannot throw up now. I will not throw up._

I felt it come up my throat and ran to the janitor's closet because I knew that it was nearby and always had a giant trash can inside. I threw open the door and ran to the bin before vomiting into it.

I began to tremble and looked down to see my legs shaking, I couldn't keep them still and searched for something to hold onto. I reached for the cabinet and fell.

My head spun and I stared up at the ceiling groggily until it faded to blank. When I woke up my head was clear. I still felt sick, but not as intense as before. I tried to get up, and I felt like there was something holding my lower body down.

 _Did I accidentally knock a cabinet down on me when I fell?_

I glanced down to see what it was and face to face with a giant, shimmering scaly tail.

 _Oh my gosh, I'm a mermaid._


	2. VMW-2 Hallucinations

**VMW-2:Hallucinations**

 **Bella's POV**

I stared in shock at the mermaid tail, it was purple but with a bit of blue too. It glimmered beneath the fluorescent lighting of the janitor's closet. I reached out to touch it but then I paused. _This isn't real._

Hallucinations are a symptom of the flu, isn't it? When the flu is really bad. Maybe I'm tired too, maybe I didn't get enough sleep last night. I shut my eyes. Hopefully, when I open them it'll be gone and I'll see what is truly there, my legs.

I opened my eyes.

And, all I saw was the same glimmering mermaid tail. I grimaced.

"Think," I told myself. "You are hallucinating." _Hallucinating.._ That's it! It's not real. I can walk out of here and go the nurse's office. I tried to stand up, but I couldn't lift myself up from the floor. The lower half of my body felt like dead weight, the tail didn't budge an inch of the floor.

 _This hallucination is very convincing._

Maybe if I relax, I will stop hallucinating. I laid down against the bland green colored tiled floor and counted the ceiling tiles as I took deep breaths.

 _I have legs not a tail. I have legs not a tail._ I chanted repeatedly in my head. Out of all the possibilities, I hallucinate of being a mermaid. Why? I didn't have a particular fascination with mermaids. If anything, I should be hallucinating of living in one of my favorite novels. I should be hallucinating of being Jane Eyre not the Little Mermaid.

As I thought about it, I heard someone quickly approaching the door and I froze. _No! They can't see me like this!_

I held my breath and stayed absolutely still and relaxed as I heard them pass by and their footsteps get quieter and quieter until they were gone. My breath whooshed out of me.

It was then that I realized that I had froze because I was worried someone would see me as a mermaid. But, it wasn't real and if someone had opened the door they would only see a sickly girl lying on the floor.

Even though I was sure I was only hallucinating being a mermaid a small voice in my head wondered, what if? What if I was a bona fide mermaid?

What would I do then?

How would my legs come back? How would I leave this closet?

I needed to figure it out, my teacher would notice if I was gone for long, and if I didn't come back soon she'll send a student to come find me.

I pulled myself up and gently felt the tail. It was smooth. I was in awe of the texture and colors of my tail. _My tail._

Could this all be real? Am I, a mermaid?

I looked down at my tail. At the place where my legs used to be, where they are supposed to be.

 _Does it come off? Are my legs really gone? Or, are they buried somewhere beneath all these scales?_

A creeping sadness swelled up in my chest and my heart beat faster, and fought back the sobs that wracked my body as I pulled and tugged at my tail. I searched frantically for an opening. For my legs.

I cried. I cried out in pain because it hurt to pull and tug at my tail and over the loss of my legs.

I looked around the closet, when I entered it it was small and crowded with shelves of household cleaners and paper towels. Now, it felt large and empty. I never felt so alone.

My thoughts were filled of loneliness, sorrow, and fear. I was overcome by it. I didn't know what to do and I couldn't imagine what would come next. Nothing else seemed to exist outside of this big, painfully empty closet.

Then the shrill ringing of the fire alarm sounded and filled the space around me.

And water rained down on me.

I gasped and looked up at me to see a fire sprinkler directly above me.

The water washed over me. It was refreshing and amazing. It was a shock to my body. I felt the exact opposite of what I was feeling before, I wasn't ill anymore and I felt lighter and freer. I smiled happily and felt at peace.

The door suddenly swung open and I whirled around to see my history teacher, Mr. Hobbs staring at me incredulously before his mouth set in a frown and his arms crossed, "Miss Swan? "

I shuffled down the hallway as I was escorted down to the nurse's office by Mr. Hobbs, I stared down at my soggy sneakers as they squished with my every step and let my damp hair fall at the sides of my face in an attempt to hide it. The walk was long and filled with awkward silence and I was relieved when we finally arrived to the nurse's office, I received a change of clothes and was examined by he nurse before being instructed to lie down and get some sleep. I stared up at the ceiling and thought about how it felt like when the fire sprinkler went off. I still felt refreshed and energized, I wanted to leave and jump in the ocean and be free, instead I stayed still.

I figured that I must have gotten dehydrated and coupled with my flu that must have caused me to hallucinate, I smiled to myself, how silly was I to even consider that I was an actual mermaid? I couldn't wait to tell my mother, she's going to laugh and poke fun at me just like I would if she told me that she thought she was a mermaid.

When the school bell rang I left the nurse's office and practically skipped all the way home, I couldn't remember the last time I was this happy. The mini breakdown I had in the janitor's closet was an old forgotten memory.

I swung open the door and skipped into the living room where my mother sat flipping through a People's magazine.

"You'll never guess what happened to me today," I told her before plopping down next to her.

"Someone is in a good mood," she stated. "So, you're feeling better? "

"Yes, I am, but that's not what I wanted to tell you, " I replied. "I got really dehydrated and had an hallucination that I was a mermaid, can you believe it? "

She set down her magazine and turned to me, "What?"


	3. VMW-3 The Witch Doctor

**VMW-3: The Witch Doctor**

 **Bella's POV**

"I hallucinated that I was a mermaid," I repeated. "I'm fine though," I added so she wouldn't worry.

"That explains the phone call I got from your school," she said. "they said you were so sick you were sweating buckets," she continued as she set down her magazine and walked into the kitchen.  
I didn't even know that they had called my mother, although it makes sense since my condition was pretty bad. The nurse must have contacted her while I was in the bathroom getting changed.  
""A mermaid, huh?" she mulled. "That sounds interesting, tell me more about it.

I relaxed in the seat she previously occupied and began to recount the events to her.  
"Well, I was feeling at fine at first but after I excused myself from class I felt really feverish and I threw up and was weak all over. After that I saw that I had a mermaid tail and panicked a bit, after that the sprinklers suddenly went off and a teacher found me," I summed up. I frowned a bit at that memory, saying that I panicked only a bit was putting it lightly.

At that time, I completely lost it and was overwhelmed with fear and the desperation to escape.  
"Are you sure you're alright, sweetie?"my mother asked, "you don't feel anything else?"  
It's really strange. I felt awfully weak before, like my whole body was drained. Now I feel not only better, but I feel like I have never had more energy in my life. It's a complete 180.  
"I see,"my mother said.  
I looked at my mother, and I noticed that she was being quieter than usual. She went into the kitchen but she didn't do anything but stand with her back to me staring out the window.  
I stood up, and walked into the kitchen, "Mom? Are you OK? You didn't catch my fever, did you?"  
My mother whirled around and leaned against the counter, "Nope! Not at all," she smiled. "I'm more concerned about you, maybe we should take you to a doctor?"  
"I really do feel fine," I reassured her.  
But, we should check just in case," she insisted. "You did hallucinate after all, how could I possibly ignore that?"  
I nodded. "You're right."  
"I'm going to take a shower," I told her before heading upstairs to my room. When I got there, I flopped down on my bed and stared up at the ceiling. Today was a really weird day.  
She's right, just because everything is okay now doesn't mean nothing's wrong. If, I'm so sick that I'm hallucinating then it is a definite cause for concern.  
I rolled over and got out my laptop to look it up, but it quickly became a useless effort so I went with my original plan to shower instead.

Once again my entire body felt rejuvenated the instant the water fell over me. I closed my eyes peacefully and stood still as I let the water shower over me.

 ** _knock, knock, knock!_**

I snapped my eyes open at the sound, "Yes?"

"Bella? Are you alright?" my mother asked frantically. "You've been in there for an hour."

What?

"Y-yeah!" I answered. "Sorry! It's just been a long day, I'll be out in a bit."

"Okay," she said warily.

"I made your doctor's appointment for tomorrow morning," she added. "Be ready by eight."

I shut off the water, strange. My mother stopped making my appointments when I was thirteen, I've always made my own since then and some of hers too.

I woke up in the morning to my mother's face staring down at mine, "Ah!" We both jumped back.  
"What are you doing?" I exclaimed.  
"I came to wake you up," she quickly explained.  
"You nearly gave me a heart attack!" I shouted with my hand over my heart, before getting out of bed and walking over to the bathroom. She followed me on my way out, "You're too young for a heart attack, sweetie." "Anyways, be ready in ten," she concluded before going downstairs.  
I quickly brushed my teeth and washed my face before grabbing a random pair of blue jeans and a camisole. I picked out a light jacket and put on my sneakers. I tied my hair into a messy ponytail as I descended the staircase. My mother put her phone away when she saw me making my way down, and handed me a poptart and a to-go cup of milk on our way out.

 _She's usually an energetic and fast-paced person, but she's really in a hurry today_ , I thought to myself. I watched her carefully as she drove, her eyes constantly flitted about, she kept changing the radio station, and she bit the inside of her cheek.

"Mom?" I inquired as innocently as I could. "Are you okay?"

She was still for a moment before turning to me with a smile, "I'm fine," she assured me."It's you that I'm worried about."

And with that the light turned green and we continued driving, I quickly finished my breakfast as we got closer to the doctor's office, it was only a left turn away at the next light. I was surprised when instead of turning left my mother made a right turn.

"Mom, what are you doing?" I asked, "You're going the wrong way."

"Nope," she replied simply. "We're going to a different doctor."  
"What! Why?" I asked.

"Because this one is going to work her magic on you and when she's all done, you'll feel a lot better," she told me.  
"I actually feel really good right now," I admitted, "And I thought we were only going to double-check?"

"We're here," she announced as we pulled up in front of a small home. It was completely plain and white, the grass was nearly perfectly trimmed, the driveway was empty, there were no potted plants or lawn gnomes, no outdoor furniture,or any sign of someone's personal touch. We walked up to a plain white door with a plain gold door knob.

I turned to my mother, "I don't think anyone lives here." Just then the door opened, I heard someone say,"Get in!" before pulling us inside and shutting the door behind us.  
The inside was nothing like the outside of the house, orange painted walls, a yellow couch with blue pillows, a pink fuzzy rug and green carpet. There were also many frames along the walls,but they were all veiled.  
"You're late."  
A tall woman that looked like she was in her mid-40's with haze eyes and caramel skin. She wore a pink shall over a grey tank top and blue jeans.  
"Hello,Miranda,"my mother greeted her. "and,we're right on time,"she added.  
"Hello,my name is Bella," I introduced myself,and reached out my hand for a handshake. She nodded at me, "Miranda,"she said curtly."Follow me,"she said before turning down the hallway.

She turned to the left and opened the door for us, we walked into a small room that was surprisingly plain unlike the rest of her house. There were white shelves all along one wall with neatly organised folders, books, and medical supplies as well as jars filled with herbs and powders. I sat on the standard bed in a doctor's office that was covered with the same flimsy paper used to cover toilet seats and went through the basic checkup.

At the end, she asked me about my symptoms.

"You said you had a fever? What was your temperature?"

"At first it was just slightly high, just 99 degrees Fahrenheit but when I was at school it was so high that my sweat was dripping down my face and I had an hallucination," I began.

"Wait," Miranda interrupted. "An hallucination?"

I nodded, "Yes." "I hallucinated that I was a mermaids but after I was given water and some time to rest I felt much better."

Miranda stared at me in disbelief but then her face slowly composed itself and took on a form of acceptance. "Okay, and what else?" she asked.

I shrugged,"That's it."

She turned to look at my mother who met her gaze for a brief moment before her eyes darted away. I watched the exchange as Miranda stared at her with what I guess was disapproval. At what? I didn't know.

Miranda turned to me and observed me and huffed before turning around to the shelves and grabbing a few things and leaving the room. My mother and I waited awkwardly for her to return and after five minutes she came back with a tall glass full of thick green liquid.

She walked right up to me, glass in hand, "Drink this," she announced, extending the glass out for me to take. I hesitantly grabbed the cold glass from her hands, "What is this?" I asked confusedly.

It was thick and dark green, it looked like sludge and utterly unappetizing.

"Although, I do have a doctorate degree in medicine, I specialize in herbal medicine," Miranda explained. "This magical little blend is going to make you feel normal again. You don't have to drink all of it. Just chug down as much as you can."

Probably sensing my skepticism she said,"It's safe. I'm good at this, I even have a notable reputation in my field and have my own little title my colleagues like to address me as."

I stared down into the cup, it was green and it smelled.

"I put some apple in there for flavor," Miranda added.

If, there was apple in it, then there was no sign of it. I took a deep breath and quickly swallowed as much as I could at once. At first, I thought I was going to choke as it filled my throat before sliding down and settling in my stomach like a hard pill.

The taste of it, bitter and strong, and it wouldn't leave my mouth, the residue of it stuck to my tongue. My face felt hot and I felt drained.

"Everything you're feeling is normal," Miranda told me. "It hits you strong but when you wake up, it'll feel like nothing happened."

"When I wake up?" I asked. Just as I said that I felt a wave of fatigue and my eyes drooped, I felt the sensation of falling over and as my vision started to fade into black I heard Miranda say, "By the way they call me the Witch Doctor."


	4. VMW-4 The Abyss

**VMW-4: The Abyss**

 **Bella's POV**

It was not like an ordinary dream. It felt much more real than that. I was floating down in an empty and dark space, much like an abyss. It was so still and quiet as I gently floated down, within a strange atmosphere of peace. I still felt a little drowsy, the way you do just as you are barely regaining consciousness. Somewhere in the far reaches of my mind I was wondering, _"How long has it been? How long will I continue to fall down this way?" "And, where does it lead to?"_

After a moment, after an eternity, I really could not tell, that's when I suddenly knew it was all coming to an end and I was getting closer to...

The faint moonlight, warm air, and the light from outside of the room spilling out from the spaces in between the doorway. _Ah, I'm awake._  
Slowly, I blinked and sat up in the my bed? No. This was someone else's bed.

As I reached the door I could hear the faint voice of my mother speaking to Miranda. Although, I tried to quietly open the door it let out a loud creaking sound that immediately silenced whatever conversation they were having. I cringed at the sound.

"Bella?" my mom's voice rang out, and revealed her clear concern for me.

"Um, good morning?" I answered sheepishly. Actually, on second thought the moon was already up wasn't it? "What time is it?" I asked, and sat down in the living room with them. But, I almost wanted to ask them what day it was instead.

"It's just barely seven," Miranda answered, looking down at her phone. Then, she quickly put it away in her pocket as she stood from her seat and walked up to me. "How are you feeling?" she asked. Mom sat close to me, and held my hand. Why was she so worried? Wasn't this whole appointment just a precaution?

"I'm fine," I quickly replied. "I'm just a bit surprised that I've been asleep for this long."

Miranda smiled.

"That's normal."

IS it really normal to be asleep for nine hours, Miranda? Seriously, what did you give me?

"Is that so?" I said.

"Mhm," Miranda suddenly cheerily replied.

"In fact, it would be strange if you reacted any other way."

Whaaat.

"So, it worked?" my mother, still concerned as ever, asked.

"Of course! It's exactly as I told you," Miranda responded.

"Well, you are free to go now. Nothing should be unusual from here on out, but on the off chance there is or you have any question please contact me," Miranda concluded, and handed me a business card.

It was really plain. A simple white business card with standard black lettering. It read: **DR. MIRANDA CRUZ. M.D. /M.S. HERBALIST.**

I casually flipped it over and saw a a unique squared design.

"Thank you again," Mom told Miranda as we were leaving. "Have a good night," Miranda waved as we walked back to the car before shutting her door. I looked back at the house, it was so plain and unremarkable that I felt like it was a strangely forgettable place despite having an unforgettable experience inside.

The next few weeks passed ordinarily like always, and as I was as healthy as ever but somehow although everything was okay, I was really bothered by it. As strange as it sounds, I felt better when I was hallucinating then I ever had before and it was a feeling I couldn't shake. It was a feeling that I wanted to experience again, that I had to experience again. But, I didn't know why. The more time passed, the harder it was to remember. Even so, I clung onto it. I couldn't let it go. Honestly, what is going on?

I had thought it over and over again but it seemed that the only way to find out was maybe to ask Miranda. So, instead of going home after school I lied and told my mom that I was studying at the library, before coming straight to Miranda's house.

I held her card in my hand and looked up at the plain white house, and with a slight hesitation I held my hand up to the door and knocked.

There was no response. I nervously looked around.

I should have called first. Why didn't I think of that earlier? Is she not home? There's no way to tell since her driveway was completely empty last time just like it is now. "I'll try again, tomorrow." Just as I turned to leave, I heard the door open up from behind me.

"Bella?"

I quickly turned around. "Dr. Miranda! Hey."

"Is something wrong?" she asked, and stepped back so I could walk inside.

"Not exactly," I murmured.

"I wanted to talk to you, about my hallucinations," I began.

"Oh my, are you hallucinating again?" she asked.

I shook my head. "No, it's not that. It's just..they were so real. I feel like..like," I stammered, as I struggled to find the right way to explain it.

"Like?" she prompted. "Like you really liked the hallucination of being a mermaid?"

"Yes!" I exclaimed. "Wait, no. Kinda? Is that weird?"

She chuckled.

"Your mother doesn't know you're here, right?"

I paled. "Uhh, um. The thing is," I began to explain, trying to think of some excuse. Oh, no. This is all going badly. Why didn't I come better prepared? Actually, now I think of it would have been better if I hadn't came at all.

"Well, I get it," Miranda spoke, catching me off-guard. "I completely understand, actually I would be surprised if you hadn't asked."

Wait, what?

"Bella, I really shouldn't be talking to you like this. You are still a minor, after all. And, I know for a matter of fact that Renee wouldn't like it either," Miranda went on.

"In fact, she'd be pissed." "I mean, honestly, this is the exact opposite of what your mother wanted."

"Wait, what are you talking about?" I asked, confusedly.

"Bella. There's really no other way to say this, so I'm just going to be up front about it, okay?" Miranda suddenly told me.

"Okay?"

"Bella, you're a mermaid."

I blinked. "C-Can you say that again, please?"

"You're a mermaid," she repeated bluntly.

Mm, so I heard her correctly the first time.

"Can you explain a bit more?" I asked carefully.

Miranda nodded. "Absolutely. Follow me."

And, with that she turned down the hallway and just passed the examination room I was in before was another room.

She opened the door and I entered a room that was completely decoration in every traditional mermaid-esque and ocean theme you can think of. Everywhere I looked there was another shade of blue, another form of seashell, decorative seaweed and fake pearls, and much more.

"This is.."  
I couldn't find the word to describe it as I stood with my mouth agape and my eyes swirling around the room as I took it all in.

It was unreal.

"You like?" Miranda asked in a proud voice.

"I do," I admitted, surprising myself. I've always had very plain tastes, I liked it better when things were simple and not gaudy. But, this? It was breathtaking.

"I call it The Mermaid Room" she stated proudly. "Also, The Cove, also Mermaid's Grotto, to be honest I have many names for it. I can't bring myself to decide on just one."

I turned towards Miranda, who was standing with her head held high and a satisfied smile as she admired the room.  
"Miranda, what did you mean when you said I was a mermaid?" I asked. Now that the initial amazement had surpassed I remembered why I was here in the first place.  
She stopped smiling and slowly brought her arms back down from and glanced down before turning around and facing me. She looked at me squarely in the eye and her sudden serious demeanor and intense gaze made me feel uneasy.

"It's exactly what I've said," she told me in a calm and even voice.

"You are an entirely different species of the human race, the mythic half human half fish, with extraordinary powers and a penchant for drowning sailors and other seafarers. You are a ethereal existence. And you are in a particularly special situation where you can choose between species. Will you continue your life as a human or die and start again as a mermaid?"

"I-wait, what?" I stammered.

"I cannot wait to find out. I want to see you decide for yourself, but unfortunately the decision has been taken out of your hands. What could it have been like for you? In another life? Another world? You'd be an entirely new person. But, we'll never know, will we Bella?"

"I don't understand what you're saying," I choked out. Why was it suddenly so hard to breathe? I felt this enormous pressure coming down on me.

Suddenly, I was brought down to my knees, my heads was spinning, as Miranda bent down and quickly darted her arm out towards me before withdrawing it again. When I looked at her she had an empty syringe in her hand which she then casually tossed out behind her.

Her eyes glittered and changed in a swirl of blues and greens that pulled me in deeper, drawing me closer to her but simultaneously I could sense a great distance between us.

"I'm so sorry," she said softly, her voice was suddenly sad and compassionate. "You'll never know. I'm sorry that I can't give you the answers you want. The contract has already been made. Maybe if you're lucky, if it can be hoped, that you'll find out some other way?"

"No...it's highly unlikely," she said afterwards to herself. Although, to be honest this entire conversation has been one-sided from the start.

"Goodbye," she whispered and gently placed her hand on my forehead as I found myself once again drifting off into the abyss.


	5. VMW-5: The Unexpected

**VMW-5: The Unexpected**

 **Bella's POV**

When I woke up I was lying in my own bed at home and I could hear the faint voices of my mom and Phil downstairs, the crowd cheering from the baseball game Phil was probably watching, and once again I looked out my window and saw the moon glowing brightly. I felt a strong sense of deja vu and hazily left my bed and stumbled down the stairs. Mom and Phil both turned to face me as they heard me come down the stairs.

"How are you feeling?" Phil asked. "Groggy," I answered, adjusting to my surroundings. It almost felt like I was seeing everything for the first time, as I scanned across the living room and kitchen. "Yeah, you still look out of it, sweetie," Mom observed. "You want something to eat?" she asked. "We have takeout from Auntie Jo's!"

I smiled,"Yeah, that sounds good. I'm just gonna head back upstairs and get rid of this morning breath." Renee nodded and turned back to the kitchen as I quickly jogged back upstairs. _Hm? Why was I asleep again?_ I thought about it for a moment but no matter what I kept drawing a blank. I tried to think back to earlier in the day but nothing stood out to me, I know I went to school but couldn't remember anything else that happened before I woke up. _That's strange._

Then suddenly a part of me said to forget about it, to not mind it, it was no big deal, I took a nap, that's it. Stop overthinking it.

"Bella, come down! Your dinner is ready!"

"Coming!" I yelled back. I rinsed my mouth and quickly put my toothbrush away and made my way to the kitchen. When I got to the table my food was served and Mom was seated across from me with her coffee mug. I chuckled when I saw it, on her mug in bold letters were the words, **Probably wine**.

I ate dinner quietly as I listened to Phil watching the game between listening to my mom share about her day, gossip, and how she finally found her missing earring in her makeup bag.

"I was so relieved Bella!" she exclaimed. "Your grandmother gave them to me on my 16th birthday, the diamonds and gold are real you know?"

"Why was it in the makeup bag in the first place?" I asked, as I twirled my fork in my pasta.

"I think it was after Phil and I came home from our date, it was so late and I was so tired. I didn't even want to put it back in jewelry box and chucked it into my purse instead. I guess my makeup bag was open and this one fell in it," she replied and touched her left earlobe.

She was wearing them now, like she usually did before she lost them. She almost always had them on except for when she went to bed because they bothered her and couldn't sleep soundly with them on. "Now I can I give these to you on your 18th birthday," she smiled.

I shook my head. "No, you love those earrings Mom." "Grandma Marie gave them to you, so you should be the one to keep them. Besides, I could never wear something so valuable," I added.

"Yes you can, and you will. I know you don't like receiving presents because you think it's troublesome for others to spend money on you but," she paused, "these are technically hand-me-downs so there's nothing you can complain about."

I narrowed my eyes at her triumphant smile as she took another sip of her coffee.

"They are still too valuable," I continued.

"I'm not taking no for an answer," Mom said with determination as she stood up from the table and left to join Phil on the couch.

"So stubborn," I mumbled to myself and finished my dinner.

After that I headed back upstairs to do my homework and wondered to myself, _Did I do my homework before I went to sleep?_

Once again I remembered how weird it was have this gaping hole in my memory.

 _Why can't I_?

Suddenly I froze mid-step on the stairs as I suddenly recalled Miranda standing over me with her hazel eyes suddenly becoming blue and continually repeating, "Forget, forget, forget, forget it all. Forget me. Forget the hallucination. Forget. Forget. Sleep. Sleep. Forget and sleep."

"Miranda," I murmured.

"Bella?" I turned to see Mom staring at me. "What's wrong?" she asked.

I blinked. "Nothing," I replied, surprised at how casual I sounded, how my face didn't betray the emotions swirling within me.

"Are you sure?" she prompted.

"I'm fine, Mom," I smiled, "I'm just thinking about homework," I lied smoothly. For once in my life, I was lying without stuttering, and awkwardly shifting my eyes, or anything else that was obviously gave me away.

"Okay, well good luck," she said and turned her attention back to Phil and the TV.

I nodded and hurriedly went up the stairs and rushed to my room. I shut the door behind me as soon as I was inside.

"Oh crap," I said to myself. "I think something is seriously wrong with me."

I paced back and forth with my mind reeling from the sudden memory.

"Who's Miranda? What the hell was that in my head just now?"

I flopped down on my bed and buried my face into the pillows as I tried to suppress a scream. It was all too unbelievable. I stayed still on my bed as I tried to sort out my thoughts and as time passed my memories slowly resurfaced and when they did I felt with an absolute certainty of three truths.

One: Miranda manipulated my mind and memories. I don't how she did it but I knew that she did. As for why, from what has happened and what she said, she was trying to prevent me from asking further about my hallucinations and the truth behind them.

Two: It wasn't an hallucination. I was a mermaid. Miranda told me herself before she knocked me out.

Three: My mom knew about it. About all of it.

I remembered how strange she acted when I told her about my hallucination, how she quickly took me to see Miranda, and most importantly how I had been asleep for most of the day yet she acted completely natural about it. Phil didn't mention anything about it but I guess she made up some kind of excuse to him.

I wanted answers, I _needed_ answers, but there was no one to turn to and suddenly no one I could trust either. The only ones who could give me answers were the same people who were keeping me in the dark, and they were willing to drug me with false herbal remedies and manipulate me in order to do it.

I'm afraid. I'm afraid of what the truth is and I'm sad because I can feel this divide developing between my mother and I. We have always been so close and been so open with each other, now even that doesn't feel real.

Were there other times when I had my mind messed with? If, so then when? Honestly, how would I even know if there has been?

I sighed and buried my face into my pillow again. "It's so messed up," I cried into my pillow.

I watched out my window as Phil opened the car door for my mom and waited for them to drive off and turn down the street before running down the stairs. I tripped and landed on my knee but quickly got up and raced out the door. I sent a quick text on my phone before running to the gas station down the street. I looked around the lot for a while before I saw it, a brown sedan parked with its engine running.

I had spent the better part of the week rummaging throughout the house for anything of my mom's that would give me answers. It wasn't easy since I had no idea what I was looking for and my mother was so scatterbrained and disorganized that she left her stuff everywhere in the house. After coming up empty I realized that I had no choice but to get my answers from Miranda.

I took a bus last time but that took too much time so I made a deal with Corey. He was failing our class and had a car, and his parents were going to revoke his driving privileges unless they were brought back up. I managed to overhear him talking to his friends about it and made a deal with him to be his tutor and occassionally copy my homework in exchange for a ride every now and then.

"I was beginning to think you flaked," Corey said when he saw me. I opened the passenger door, "Nope, I was just held up by my parents," I told him. "Thanks for this," I added. Corey smiled tightly, "As long as you get me to pass Algebra." I nodded. "I will. Whenever you need me," I promised."Alright, where are we going?" he asked as he began to put the car in reverse.

"It's not far," I assured him. "It's just a friend's house, keep driving down main and make a left at KFC."

Corey drove in silence as I gave him directions, once we arrived at Miranda's house I thanked him once again with a copy of Monday's homework and asked him to pick me up in an hour. I watched him drive away before carefully looking around me and hopping over her fence. Although, I didn't find any answers from my mom I knew I could find them here. The thing is that Miranda can come back at any moment. If she catches me I can have my mind wiped all over again and I wasn't sure if I would notice it again. Carefully I reached up to her window and peeked inside. She's not home. I took a deep breath. To be honest to myself this was the most reckless I've ever done and I didn't exactly have a well thought out plan. But, I couldn't wait and I knew if I truly thought about it I would talk myself out of it.

The window was open thankfully except for the mesh screen meant to keep bugs out. I scanned the edges and searched for a weakness that I could exploit. Around the edges were screws, I reached into my bag and searched for what I had. I brought a flashlight, pepper spray, black gloves,but not a screwdriver or any other tool. _To be honest I'm amazed about how stupid I am to be so ill prepared for this_.

I searched her backyard and found a shed, surely this is where she'll have some tools?

As I walked closer I realized that there was a padlock secures to the door, disappointed I retreated back to where I was. At this point I was beginning to panic, the longer I stayed the more likely I was to get caught.

Maybe she hid a key somewhere? I scanned the area, she really has nothing back here.

"This is just sad."

I jumped at the sudden voice. I stood frozen too scared to turn around and face her.

"Turn around," she commanded. I cringed.

I slowly turned around and saw a girl close to my age standing with a smirk on her face.

"Not who you expected?" She teased.

I shook my head.

"Not what I expected," I replied honestly.

The girl grinned while within a large mass of water surrounding her. The lower half of her body was completely submerged and the top half was completely dry.

"Where..?" I asked in disbelief, scanning the yard again. Not only the girl but this entire pool of water wasn't here before, both had suddenly appeared.


End file.
